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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26816653">cozy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sentimentalstardust/pseuds/sentimentalstardust'>sentimentalstardust</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hamilton - Miranda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(it's herc), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Alexander Hamilton, Discussions of Homophobia, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, Gay John Laurens, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Character, because john's dad is a dickhead, chapters are short and sweet, i'll try to update AT LEAST bi-weekly, john is a gay mess but that's ok, john likes knitting, like a lot, pretty much no one here is cishet, the author tends to project</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:40:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26816653</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sentimentalstardust/pseuds/sentimentalstardust</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>in which alex loves coffee, john loves knitting and they love each other.</p><p>· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·</p><p>john laurens has his life sorted out. he has a stable job, a hobby that fulfills him and a favorite coffee shop he frequents on an almost daily basis. but when said coffee shop's newest chaotic employee alexander hamilton readily agrees to model for john's first original knitting pattern collection, john's neat and tidy world gets thoroughly rearranged.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette/Hercules Mulligan, Margaret "Peggy" Schuyler/Original Female Character(s), Maria Reynolds/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler, Thomas Jefferson/James Madison</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. in which john meets a cute barista</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hi. i'm zenith. i'm the author of this thing.</p><p>while this isn't my first time showing off my work on the internet, this is the first time i'm posting a fic on this specific site, and to be honest, i'm beyond nervous. i definitely don't expect this thing to take off or anything, but i do know that at least some people will read this eventually. and honestly? that's terrifying.</p><p>i put a lot of myself in this story. many characters have gone through things that i myself am experiencing in my day-to-day life. adhd and autism and institutional ableism. gender dysphoria and the rollercoaster of emotions that come with transitioning. growing up as a queer kid in a close-minded community.</p><p>while the focal point of this whole fic is mostly just tooth-rotting fluff, it's also a story about self-discovery, self-acceptance and self-expression. as someone who has been forced to hide parts of myself my entire life, discovering myself and who i am, my needs and wants, my talents and my many, many weaknesses, has been an essential part of healing.</p><p>i'm writing this to process my own thoughts and feelings and to hopefully make others with similar experiences feel seen. because that's what i would have needed all those years ago.</p><p>and if you, the reader, need someone to talk to, i'm here. no matter who you are, what you're experiencing or how insignificant your problems feel. reach out to me and i will listen. and i will see you. because you deserve to be seen.</p><p>thank you so much for reading and much love,<br/>zen.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cozy Coffee lived up to its name. The moment John entered, it was like the noise of New York's busy streets vanished, leaving only the soft jazz playing in the background and the sound of raindrop pitter-pattering against the windows. The café itself wasn't too big, but thanks to its two floors and fairly convoluted architecture, it still had plenty of comfortable little nooks providing just the right amount of privacy. John especially liked the couch by the big window. Partially hidden behind a bookshelf and beneath the stairs to the second floor, it was the perfect spot to relax and do some knitting while having a hot beverage.</p><p>It was when John hung up his jacket and let his gaze wander around the room that he first took note of the new barista. Not that he was hard to overlook. He was chatting with one of his coworkers -- Peggy, as John knew from his near daily visits here -- and his voice carried over from the counter all the way across the room to the entrance. His back was half-turned and John could only catch a small glimpse of his profile. Enough to note he was attractive, though. Or maybe John just had a thing for man buns. Probably a combination of both, now that he thought about it.</p><p>John had already been staring for a little longer than appropriate when Peggy finally noticed him. "Hey! Same as usual?" she called over. Hah. Perks of being a regular.</p><p>"Same as usual," the curly-haired man confirmed before making his way over to his favorite little spot. People on Tumblr really enjoyed romanticising the idea of quaint little coffee shops where they know your name and what you like to order and John couldn't blame them. It really was everything it was cranked up to be. Between knitting needles and the faint smell of freshly brewed coffee, all that was missing for the perfect aesthetic was a cute barista to flirt with. But alas, his life wasn't a fanfiction written by a lonely twenty-something and read by equally as lonely readers in order to compensate for their own lack of a love life.</p><p>But speaking of cute baristas ...</p><p>He glanced up from his current knitting project -- an extra soft, long scarf for the colder months -- and craned his neck to catch another glimpse of Mr New Guy. But alas, to no avail. All he saw was an elderly couple eating cake and Peggy adding an unhealthy amount of whipped cream to a drink.</p><p>"You looking for something?"</p><p>John immediately snapped back into place. And there he stood, coffee mug in hand, smiling sort of smugly. The new barista. "Oh, uhm-- No. Not really. I was just people watching." Which, if you thought about it, wasn't even a lie. So he didn't need to feel bad at all. Haha. Ha.</p><p>"Well, alright then, here's your drink." The fairly short man placed John's beverage on the coffee table by the couch. "And you're John, right? One of the regulars. Peggy told me about you."</p><p>"Oh, the mortifying ordeal of being known." John laughed and the tension in his shoulders eased. "Yes, that's me. When did you start here ..." he glanced at the name tag on the barista's apron. "... Alex?" Alex. A pretty name for sure. Spunky-sounding, too. He couldn't help but feel like it fit somehow.</p><p>Gazing out the window at the rain-swept street, Alex replied, "A couple of days. I normally work the early shift." And, judging by the dark bags under his eyes, that hadn't exactly worked out for him. "And you come here every day?"</p><p>John nodded. "If I can make the time, yes. So ... I think we'll be seeing each other around again soon." His fingers gently toyed with the scarf he was working on. Alex's eyes flickered downwards, assessing it for a moment, before he made direct eye contact again.</p><p>"I would certainly hope so. Gotta go back to work now. See you around." And before John could even think to ask what he had meant, he was already gone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. in which alex gets a scarf and john gets an idea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hercules was already waiting for him by the time John arrived at Cozy Coffee. Sitting on their favorite couch, he seemed busy doing something on his laptop, but looked up when John approached him.</p><p>"I found some models for the collection," he beamed and turned his laptop a bit so John could have a look at the screen. Clicking through a bunch of emails, he showed off several portfolios. "I like that Thomas Jefferson guy, personally."</p><p>John laughed. "That's only because he looks kinda like Lafayette."</p><p>"Nah, my Laf is much cuter." Herc's chest was puffed out a little in pride. It really was adorable how in love he was with his fiance, even if it also served as a reminder of John's own lack of a love life. "I still can't believe the wedding is in three weeks. To be honest, I'm kinda nervous."</p><p>"Don't you dare get cold feet now." Their conversation was interrupted by Lafayette, the owner of Cozy Coffee and the man in question, coming to their table and setting down a large mug of black coffee and a plate of cookies in front of them. "Cookies are on the house for my handsome future husband and our amazing best man."</p><p>He leaned over to give Hercules a big kiss before turning his attention to John. "I have some paperwork to do, but I can give your order to Alexander. What do you want?"</p><p>John couldn't help the small flutter his heart made at the mention of Alex. In replaying their one interaction the other day, he had come to the conclusion that there was definitely some kind of flirtation going on between them. After being on a kind of relationship dry spell for so long, maybe having a small, fleeting crush and a joking flirt with a cute barista was exactly what he needed.</p><p>"I'll take the usual," he replied and watched as Lafayette pressed another kiss to his soon-to-be husband's cheek and scurried off.</p><p>Still grinning to himself, Hercules once again diverted his attention back to the portfolios on his laptop. "Hey, Maria sent me an email. She and her wife wanna model for you. I worked with 'em before, they're both great."</p><p>John clicked through the portfolio attached to the email. Maria and Eliza Reynolds ... Despite not having had a single bit of interest in women ever in his life, he had to admit they were both very beautiful. "I guess I'm gonna trust your judgement there. I'd definitely take them into closer consideration."</p><p>Upon scrolling through the emails they had gotten, though, it quickly became apparent that most of the people applying to model for then we're female or female presenting. Which in and of itself wasn't a big deal, but for a collection with the overall theme of "diversity", maybe having more masculine and androgynous models would be nice.</p><p>While looking at other applications, John pulled out the scarf he was working on. He was nearly finished, actually, just in time for fall. Season of cold wind, knitted garments and hot beverages. Speaking of which, when he looked up from his work, Alex was there, placing a large caramel latte with extra whipped cream next to their plate of cookies.</p><p>"You guys look busy," he commented. "Lafayette told me you're like ... fashion bloggers or something."</p><p>"I mean, I guess you could say that. He's the one with the social media presence, though. I'm just a humble knitting enthusiast. We're collaborating on a collection of knitting patterns though," John explained proudly. "We want to bring more diversity into the knitting community. It's rare to find guys or enbies there and most of the models you see are skinny white women. So when I met Herc and he told me he was kind of annoyed about that as well, we decided to make our own little pattern collection featuring people of color, trans people, feminine guys, masculine women, androgynous people, all the good stuff. So far we're–" he stopped his rambling for a moment, "shit, am I boring you? I infodump a little too much sometimes."</p><p>But instead of looking annoyed, Alex grinned. "Don't worry. That's really cool, actually." He glanced down at John's hands. "And that scarf looks really warm and soft."</p><p>"Do you want to try it on?" John offered and already got up to wrap the knitted accessory around the barista's neck. "Careful with the needles though."</p><p>Alex sighed in bliss and rubbed the soft material against his cheeks. "That's incredible! You know, I'm from the Caribbean, so I never had to wear scarfs or anything like that in winter. I'm not used to it and most of them I just find way too scratchy. But this? This I could get used to."</p><p>And, without really thinking, John bumbled, "You can keep it then! It was mostly just a project out of boredom. I just need to do the finishing touches and then you can have it."</p><p>He didn't even give Alex a chance to say no, even if he had already opened his mouth in an attempt to protest. "Seriously, you can have it. I'm glad you like it."</p><p>Alex sighed. "Fine. Okay. Thank you so much! Is there, uh ... Is there anything I can do for you in return? Like, can I pay you or buy you another cup of coffee or something?"</p><p>He was about to insist that Alex didn't need to do anything of the sort when John's mind returned to the modelling applications he had received. Alex was very attractive, definitely the type who could pull off some of the things John had designed and honestly, part of him wanted an excuse to get to know him better.</p><p>John smirked. "You know, I actually do have a favor I'd like to ask of you ..."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>honestly, john being asked a single question about a creative project of his and IMMEDIATELY infodumping the shit out of it is such a mood.</p><p>thanks to everyone for the amazing support on chapter one. i hope everyone is doing well and that you liked this second chapter.</p><p>also, i finally decided to get a non-private tumblr presence, so you can find me there! my url is sentimentalstardust. it's still a work in progress, but i'm already taking writing requests!</p><p>if you want to support me, kudos and comments are much appreciated as always. i respond to every single comment you guys leave me, i promise!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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